28th Division Battle of the Bulge MIA-POW Stalag IX B Bad Orb Scrapbook

[Manchu Warrior]

I have come to the conclusion that paper items are my favorite items to collect and if it every came a time when I could only keep certain items it would be the personal paper items that I have. With that being said. I purchased this scrapbook at an estate sale a few years ago. It consist of a letter the soldier wrote to his parents while on board a troopship at sea. There is the Western Union telegram and letter stating that the soldier was MIA on Dec. 20, 1944 near Luxembourg. There is also a telegram and letter stating that the soldier was in fact a POW in Germany. There are six letters written to the soldier and a couple that he wrote to his parents. One of the letters written to him was a long letter from a friend that was trying to convince the soldier to join the Masons. There are also two packing list, on shipping tags, filled out by the soldiers father. They are neat they have everything listed that his pop sent to him through the Red Cross. There are three photos of Bad Orb Stalag IX B POW camp. I believe the best item is a letter the soldier wrote to his parents when the 44th Division liberated Bad Orb. A few sentences from the letter,"We had a wonderful Easter. This year we were liberated on Easter Monday morning and what a joy it was to see the old GI Joe's come rolling into our prison camp." There are also items I did not take photos of. Such as telegrams from when he was back under US military control. The first telegram he sent his parents after he was liberated. A 28th ID "Bloody Bucket" patch that was on his uniform when he was captured. There are also articles from when he was interviewed by the local newspaper and articles of the battle he was in when he was captured etc. And also other article pertaining to his units. What do you guys think?

[Manchu Warrior]

More photos.

[Manchu Warrior]

More photos.

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

Some of the photos were to big and I could not upload them.

[KASTAUFFER]

I think think this group is awesome

 

I personally collect POW groups myself and appreciate seeing paper like this that has been kept together and not split up.

 

POW mail from Stalag 9B is scarce. Not much mail got out of that camp unlike Stalag Luft III , IIB , IIIB , 17B ETC where the mail is common.

 

Show more! Id love to see it !

 

Kurt

[Jeeper704]

Was he 110th Infantry Regiment?

(sorry, I can't see the photos as they're blocked at work here)

 

Erwin

[Manchu Warrior]

Kurt, I re-buried the scrapbook and when I get a chance I will pull it back out and take photos of the other items. I also showed this to a friend, and although he was not positive, he believed that POW mail from Bad Orb was much rarer then mail from the other camps. So, I appreciate the information, and so will my friend, and I am also glad that you appreciate the fact that the book has stayed together and it will as long as I own it. My oldest son as taken a liking to the scrapbook so maybe he will keep it together as well. Erwin, the soldier served in several different units and I have not sat down and read all the information. When I get a chance I will try to determine what regiment he was with when he was captured. Thanks again guys.

[Manchu Warrior]

More photos of the scrapbook

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

Both of these have a nice clean Stalag IX B post mark on the front but the very edge of the letters are glued to the page and I did not want to tear them while trying to get a photo of the postmark.

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

[Manchu Warrior]

Kurt, this is the last of the items and I hope you enjoy them.

[Manchu Warrior]

Was he 110th Infantry Regiment?

(sorry, I can't see the photos as they're blocked at work here)

 

Erwin

Erwin, I read all the items in the book and I do not see any reference as to what regiment this soldier was in. John

[Bugme]

I have come to the conclusion that paper items are my favorite items to collect...

A few year ago I got a bunch of items for my collection. Included were some service papers for a soldier. My 16 year old son was drawn to these and asked for them. I figured that since he was interested I'd give them to him. Now at age 24, He has a huge collection of pictures and paper items(ie: orders, letters, draft cards, telegrams, V-Mail, pictures, passes, ID's etc.etc.) His collection of such things is phenomenal. I really think that historically, these are more valuable than my military collection. Mine portray the history, his stuff relives it each time you read a letter! My son said the same thing as you, he considers the collecting of these items his favorite.

[Jeeper704]

If he was Infantry; it probably was 109th or 110th Regiment as 112th was in Belgium when The Bulge broke out.

Did he mention any towns or villages?

 

Sure an interesting grouping.

 

Erwin

[KASTAUFFER]

He was in the 110th Infantry Regiment when he was captured according to my POW list.

 

NICE GROUP

 

Kurt

[Manchu Warrior]

He was in the 110th Infantry Regiment when he was captured according to my POW list.

 

NICE GROUP

 

Kurt

Kurt, I appreciate the information. Thanks

[Mr-X]

Fantastic grouping.

I also think that paperwork groups are interesting due to the information that they contain. They are also unique, especially photographs.

Of course the best kind of group is the one that has everything. Paperwork-Photographs-Uniforms-Medals

[Jeeper704]

Would have been even more interesting if you knew where exactly he got captured (Hosingen, Wiltz, ???).

 

Erwin